The Princess and the Bandit

Chapter 37

"Hollie!" She trills, and I rise from my chair to meet her halfway to the table. She locks me in a warm embrace, her arms trembling as she holds me, and I rest my head to her shoulder in disbelief.
"What're you doing here?!" I cry once she releases me, dabbing tears from her eyes.
"Wanted to surprise you on your anniversary!" She smiles sadly. She grabs my arms and looks me up and down, scrutinizing every inch of my body. "Hollie, your posture!"
I blink, and immediately straighten my spine. Emotional moment is over with. Just like old times.
She purses her lips, examining me again, and then her eyes soften slightly. "Why, you look lovely, dear." She embraces me again, briefly, still trembling slightly. Then she straightens, chin again held regally in the air, and she looks past me to Connor.
"What a handsome boy..." She smiles at him, but there is a coldness beneath the smile as I sit down beside him and she seats herself across from me.
"I trust you have been good to my daughter?" She narrows her eyes at the way he slouches so contentedly in his chair, and he self-consciously straightens.
"Um... yeah?" He raises an eyebrow at me, like he's asking for my opinion on the matter. I subtly roll my eyes at him, and look honestly to my mother.
"Yes, mother. Very good." I step on his toe under the table to remind him that's what he should be.
"Lovely." Mother says coldly, still eyeing Connor. He squirms uncomfortably under her gaze.
"You need to comb your hair." She observes finally, and he glances at me incredulously. Who does this woman think she is, critiquing the hair of the one and only Connor?
"I like it." I assure him, reaching over mussing it up further. Connor makes the mistake of grinning.
"You two seem... comfortable." My mother comments cooly.
"It has been a year, mother." I shrug, but pull back my hand embarrassedly as Connor's face turns red.
"Yes..." She narrows her eyes at me, but then the door bangs open and Connor's father strolls leisurely into the room.
Joy.
I can feel the color draining from my face as he walks in and seats himself across from Connor. He glances over, sees my mother, and nods to acknowledge her presence.
"Right, then." He rubs his hands together, looking around the table. "Practically the whole family! Wonderful. Let's eat!"
Still flustered by king Thomas's sudden and rude entry, my mother delicately crosses her hands in her lap and surveys me as servants rush out of nowhere, bearing platters of food and pitchers of wine.
"So... what have you been doing on your spare time, Hollie?" She asks conversationally, after we've all selected our first course meal, and I'm trying to pick delicately at the food like she taught me.
"Oh, nothing exciting." I remember to wipe my mouth. "My princessly duties, you know. Signing documents, reviewing work ethics, keeping this bloke in check-" I nudge Connor playfully.
"Sounds interesting." She says flatly, eyeing Connor. "And what do you do, prince?"
"I, uh," He runs a hand through his hair to give himself time to chew and swallow whatever he was eating. "Um, I train with the knights quite a lot... we make regular visits to the village, tracking the bandit.... fun stuff..."
He goes to bite into a large hunk of steak, but then-
"Bandit? What bandit?"
"Oh, he's, uh-" Connor stares longingly at the steak, but refrains from shoving it in his mouth. "Some bloke who, uh... steals things. From us." He opens his mouth to take a bite.
"And you haven't caught him yet?"
"Uh... it's a work in progress."
"And you let something like this happen?!"
Connor sighs and sets his fork on his plate. "Look. We're doing the best we can, and it's not a very important matter...." He glances nervously at his father, but the king is too absorbed in his food. "We'll find him. Eventually."
My mother purses her lips, but goes back to nibbling delicately at her food.
"Let's hope not." I mouth to Connor, who grimaces. It's strange to talk about the bandit like this, when in reality he's sitting right next to me.
The room is filled with the clatter of forks and knives against fine china. The servants bring in wine glasses, and I water mine down heavily with the pitcher. Connor reaches eagerly for his, and I smack his hand away, pouring a good amount of water in the glass, to his disappointment.
Finally, after a good bit of awkward eating, king Thomas sets down his fork with a sigh, and addresses me and Connor.
"I hope you two have put a bit of thought into continuing the bloodline."
I blink. Why would he bring that up now? Apparently my mother is thinking the same thing.
"Excuse me?" She raises a thin eyebrow in his direction, and he shrugs.
"I've spoken to them before... it's up to them now to make sure neither of our families dies out... it's been a full year, and they really should begin considering...."
"She's not even sixteen yet!" My mother cries in outrage, as Connor blushes and looks down at his plate, trying to block out the conversation.
"And many girls have their first child before they even turn fifteen!" The king shrugs indifferently, like, it's life.
"Yes, but..." My mother can't find a suitable argument to that.
"Connor risks his life nearly every day, what with the bandit and whatever else you and the knights do out there- so many things could go wrong, and then you could end up with a widowed, virgin daughter, and both our bloodlines would end right there." The king reasons.
"Yes, but... she's so young..." My mother murmurs.
"How old were you?" Thomas asks mercilessly. She looks at him indignantly, then bows her head and mumbles:
"Her age, I suppose."
"There, see? A woman's youth will only last for so long...."
"We have a few more years, though." I say quickly. I hate how they speak about us like we're nothing but pawns, like we're not even here! "It's our decision... and we've decided to wait a few more years."
"Then maybe you do have some amount of sense...." She sighs to Connor, who frowns, not sure whether or not to take that as a compliment.
"He's very sensible, mother." I assure her, pinching his hand beneath the table.
"Mmm." She bites her lip, still eyeing us.
Suddenly the king gets to his feet, yawning enormously.
"Good lunch." He grunts, then glances at my mother. "Nice to see you... whatever your name was..." Then he meanders out the door without another word. My mother glances at us for an explanation.
"He's gone off the deep end." I explain, and Connor grimaces at the harshness of my words.
"Yes, it would seem so..." She looks disturbed by the thought. She watches me and Connor for a long time.
"You share a room?" She asks finally. I nod, and she looks unsurprised, but unhappily so.
"And, I assume... a bed, as well?"
"It's a big bed." Connor offers, trying to help, but just making things worse.
"He means we're not... close." I try to explain, using my hands to demonstrate. My mother's eyes narrow at us, but she nods.
"Connor, would you mind? If we could chat privately for a moment..." She looks at Connor, who nods hurriedly and quickly gets out of his chair and leaves the room, glad to be out of her skeptical gaze, even if it is only for a few minutes.
The moment the door closes behind him, my mother looks me in the eyes and clasps my hands together on top of the table.
"Is he good to you?"
I smile reassuringly. "Yes. I'm very lucky."
She sighs in relief, and visibly relaxes, as if a great weight has been lifted from her shoulders. "Good... and, he hasn't hurt you?"
I open my mouth, then pause to think. Yes... he has hurt me. On two occasions. But at the same time, both times I got a little carried away... the second time I even dared to call his own father a murderer... no, she doesn't need to know. It will just worry her even more. "No, mother. Never."
"Good, good." She bites her lip and stares at our hands, pale fingers entangled hopelessly. Two wedding rings sparkle in the light. "But has he... tried anything? Kissed you, touched you...?"
I bite the inside of my cheek. Kissing... crushed attempts to touch... does she need to know? "He has kissed me, yes, mother."
Her face tightens. "Violently so?"
I remember that night in our chambers, when he tried to force me back on the bed... but that was a one time thing... right? But I can't keep lying to her. "Only once..."
Her eyes widen, but I shake my head. "I stopped him before he got too carried away. He felt terrible afterward, actually. Nothing like it has happened since." I assure her truthfully, and she nods stiffly.
"I just don't want him taking advantage of you-"
"He's an honorable man, mother." I say. Inside, though, I'm thinking more along the lines of then why did you give me to him anyway? "The knights, the villagers, the people of Clockman, they all respect him deeply. As do I. He's a good man."
She smiles sadly, and I can see the tears sparkling in her eyes. "It almost sounds like you love him."
I squeeze her hands. "I almost do."
"And does he feel the same way about you?"
"He tries to hide it... but I think so."
We embrace again, and then she calls in Connor for a brief private meeting. I press my ear to the door to listen in.
"Connor..." I hear my mother's voice. "I can see why Hollie likes you so much. So handsome... honest...." Her tone changes abruptly. "Are you good to my daughter?"
A pause.
"I-I try to be." The sincerity in his voice is hard to overlook.
"Very well. And... have you hurt her?"
Another hesitation.
"I.... Yes." Then it all comes rushing out. "I've raised my hand to your daughter... twice... both times when I was drunk on fury, and she had... said things... and both times it almost killed me to do it... I'll never forgive myself." His voice cracks, brutally honest as always.
I wait for my mother to scream at him, to throw things at him, anything. Then she chuckles. A low, cracked, perhaps even reluctant, bark.
"Yes... she can be infuriating. Good thing she has you to remind her she isn't ruler of the world."
I can practically see the surprise on Connor's face.
"Wait... you're not... upset?"
"I can only imagine the things she might have blurted out... she's a wild one. I would prefer it if you could refrain from hitting her, but to be honest, she deserves it sometimes." I raise my eyebrows where I stand. I guess I do. When my mother speaks again, her tone is serious. "You're learning. The both of you. And I believe that you regret it... but it better not happen again."
"Yes, yes, never." Connor says quickly, the relief of forgiveness evident in his voice.
"Mmm.... Now, tell me, Connor. Have you ever kissed my daughter?"
"Yes."
A hesitation.
"Have you ever tried to... touch her? Tell me now."
Silence.
"Yes."
I hear my mother sigh, like she suspected it all along. "How many times has this happened?"
A pause. "Which one?"
"Excuse me?"
"The kissing or the... you know."
"Both."
"Alright..." He sighs, and speaks reluctantly, but with complete honesty. "I've kissed her several times."
"Prolonged?"
"Uh... yeah."
"And how many times have you... must I say it?"
"It wasn't like that. But twice. At least, twice I tried..." He admits. "I didn't even mean to. It felt like someone else was doing it... but both times she stopped me before I could... and I felt terrible about myself..."
My mother sighs again. I can just see him watching her expectantly, waiting for the blows and harsh words he expected last time.
"Well, I can give you one thing, Connor." She says at last. "You've been more honest with me than my own daughter."
"How so?" I can see the confusion on his face.
"She told me you would never hurt her. Had kissed passionately only once."
Silence.
"Why?"
"Why do you think? She was trying to protect you." My mother's voice cracks. "She was worried I would come down on you for what you had done...."
"Nothing less than I deserve." Connor says dejectedly, probably feeling horrible about himself now that he's just confessed everything bad that has happened between us. But it's not only bad things.
"No... it's understandable." My mother's voice is stronger when next she speaks. "The feelings are normal, longing and desire... infatuation... I suppose I should have known. And both of you are so lovely...."
"I didn't mean to, though, it was-"
"Connor. As long as you don't force her... as long as you do so gently, relations are... understandable... it's just hard." I can hear her sniffling, and I know she's crying now. "God, I'm not even able to reprimand you on this, technically... she's actually yours, you know. I gave her to you... I gave you my Hollie...."
Her sobs echo through the room. I can't resist any longer, and I crack open the door just ajar to peer through. Connor is sitting uncertainly across from my mother, while she sobs into her hands. Wordlessly, he reaches across the table and puts a hand gently on my mother's shoulder.
"You did what was best for your kingdom. That takes a strong woman. And, if it helps... you'll always be her mother. I'm just the bloke who has to carry her to her room every now and then." He smiles, and my mother raises her head, tears dripping down her cheeks.
"I'm glad it was you." Is all she says. He chuckles.
"So am I."
Mother lifts a hand to her face as she sobs again. "Oh, God... she loves you, you know."
"I know."
"And there's no doubt in my mind that you love her back?"
"More than anything in the world."
"You'll protect her?"
"Indefinitely."
"Care for her?"
"Undoubtedly."
"Give her the loving she needs?"
A devilish grin spreads over his face. "With pleasure."
"Then, Connor of Clockman... I'm proud to call you my son-in-law."
They get up to exit, but as they stand, my mother grasps his shoulder and whispers one final, menacing warning in his ear.
"But if she's pregnant next time I visit, you're going to wish you'd never been born. Got that?"
He nods quickly, and then they exit the hall. I, of course, pretend I wasn't listening in on their conversation. We give my mother a grand tour of the castle to pass the time (she walks in between me and Connor), and soon we find ourselves parting at the castle gates.
My mother mounts her horse, a small escort awaiting her near the bridge as we exchange farewells.
"It's been good to see you, Hollie." She smiles sadly but strongly in my direction.
"You as well, mother."
"And nice meeting you... Connor." She adds to Connor, who dips his head respectfully, but the ice behind her words heavily draws on her final warning to him.
She turns to go, then stops, looking back at us.
"Hollie... are you happy?"
Me and Connor look at each other, then he wraps his arm around me in answer, holding me close. I smile at him, then at my mother.
"I think... I am."
She nods, then spurs her horse without further words. We stand in front of the castle, watching the galloping horses disappear into the sunset, as he holds me protectively to his side.
Once they're gone, I raise an eyebrow at him.
"I love her more than anything?" I imitate his voice with an expression of disbelief on my face. His face reddens.
"I can't believe you." He says in disgust, as we make our way back to our chambers. "I didn't listen in on you."
"Eh... she's my mother." I shrug. "Anyway, I wanted to see if you would lie to her. Good job you told the truth... I think she's decided to like you because of that."
"Small wonder."